Viruses, Infections & Disease, features and articles | Educational Science

May 26, 2015

'Popping' HIV into Oblivion (Video)

Britt Faulstick is a news officer for technology and engineering at Drexel University. He contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. One of the leading obstacles in the fight against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the viral precursor to AIDS, is the way the virus frequently...

Oct 28, 2015

Skin-Crawling Experience: Caterpillar Gives Woman Hives

Caterpillars' cute and fuzzy looks may make them seem harmless, and they usually are. But that wasn't the case for one woman in Arizona: Her left shoulder quickly erupted in an itchy, red rash after a brush with one of these critters. The 42-year-old woman was in her backyard under...

Nov 17, 2015

Charlie Sheen Has HIV: What It's Like to Live with the Virus

Actor Charlie Sheen's announcement this morning that he is HIV positive may seem like bleak news, but like others infected with the virus, he could have a relatively normal life, doctors say. I am, in fact, HIV positive, Sheen, 50, told Matt Lauer on the NBC show Today, adding that...

Feb 11, 2016

Undetected HIV Leads to Cluster of Cases in Adult Film Industry

A male adult film star in California who underwent regular HIV testing still ended up contracting the virus and infecting two other men before the disease was detected, according to a new report of the case. The case underscores the need for adult film workers, and others at risk for...

Mar 1, 2016

Man Gets Rare Strain of HIV Despite Taking Antiviral Pills

In the first documented case of its kind, a man taking an effective antiviral medication still contracted a drug-resistant strain of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a new report finds. The 43-year-old man in Canada was taking Truvada, the medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reduce HIV...

Jul 15, 2016

Prince Harry Checks HIV: Who Else Should Get Tested?

Member of the British royal family Prince Harry took an HIV test this week, with the goal of destigmatizing testing for the virus. But exactly who should get screened for HIV, and how often? The prince's test, which was broadcasted on Facebook Live yesterday (July 14), took just a few...

Sep 13, 2016

Alexis Arquette's Death: How Do People Die from AIDS?

Actress Alexis Arquette has died from complications related to AIDS, according to news reports, but how exactly, does someone die from the disease? Arquette, who was an activist in the transgender community, died on Sunday at age 47, according to People magazine. Members of Arquette's family, including her sister Patricia...

Oct 26, 2016

HIV's 'Patient Zero' Wrongly Blamed for AIDS Epidemic

A man who was believed to have introduced HIV to North America — the man sometimes referred to as Patient Zero — was actually not the initial source of the virus on this continent, new research shows. Rather, this man was one of the thousands of people in North America...

Nov 10, 2016

HIV Test to Go: USB Tool Could Aid Developing Countries

A new technology that fits on a USB stick can be used to test for levels of HIV in people's blood, which could aid in treatment of the disease in developing countries, according to a new study. The device has a chip that uses just a drop of blood to...

Nov 28, 2016

New HIV Vaccine Study Starts in South Africa

A new HIV vaccine is now being tested in South Africa in a study that aims to enroll several thousand people, officials announced today. The study is the first in seven years to test the effectiveness of a vaccine against HIV, said the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is...

May 18, 2017

The 'Charlie Sheen Effect': Surge Seen in HIV Test Sales

Actor Charlie Sheen's disclosure that he is HIV positive appears to have had a striking effect on sales of home HIV testing kits, a new study suggests. Researchers found that, after Sheen announced he had HIV on Nov. 17, 2015, sales of home HIV testing kits doubled in the United...

Jul 24, 2017

Child Born with HIV is Virtually Virus-Free for 9 Years, Without Meds

A child in South Africa who was born with HIV has been virtually free of the virus for nearly nine years now and didn't take anti-HIV drugs for most of that time, according to a new report of the case. The child was treated with HIV medications early in life,...

Apr 27, 2018

Why One Woman Broke Out in Hives When Her Co-Workers Cranked Up the AC

It all started when a woman's co-workers ramped up the air conditioning. For some reason, she broke out in hives. Concerned, the woman visited the doctor and got startling news: She was allergic to the cold. The condition, known as cold urticaria (ur-tih-KAR-ee-uh), is rare, but it jibed with her...

May 8, 2018

HIV Has a 'Long Lost' Cousin: What You Should Know About This Virus

It's related to HIV, yet you've probably never heard of it: a virus called human T-cell leukemia virus type 1, or HTLV-1. But now, high rates of HTLV-1 in parts of Australia are prompting some scientists to call for increased efforts to prevent the spread of the disease, according to...

May 24, 2018

HIV Can Lie Dormant in the Brain. Here's What That Means.

The HIV virus, which causes AIDS, has long been known to target and disable cells of the immune system, which are responsible for fighting off invading microorganisms and for suppressing malignant cancers. More recently, researchers also learned HIV not only targets immune cells in the bloodstream but also in the...